A 33-year-old woman in Kentucky may spend the rest of her life in prison after killing her two sons last year, shooting both boys in the head inside their family home, and then claiming she was “manipulated through Facebook” into committing the heinous act.
On Friday, Bullitt Circuit Court Judge Rodney D. Burress sentenced Tiffanie Lucas to two life sentences, one for the murders of Maurice “Peanut” Baker Jr., 6, and Jayden Howard, 9.
Several family members gave victim impact statements to the court before Burress delivered the sentence.
Maurice Baker Sr. told the court that Lucas has “held my son over my head” since Maurice Jr.’s birth, no matter how many times he begged to be with the boy, according to Louisville, Kentucky, NBC affiliate WAVE.
“So many birthdays he missed,” Baker said. “I had a party planned, and she wouldn’t let him come. I begged her. The last time I texted her, I asked if I could just talk to my son. “She ignored me.”
After stating that he had made numerous attempts to obtain custody of his son, Baker allegedly looked directly at Lucas and told her, “You know what you are.”
Regina Rowan, Jayden’s grandmother, also spoke before the court. She, too, used her time on the stand to speak directly with Lucas, according to Louisville CBS affiliate WLKY.
“You know you’ve always had a place to dump my heart. You took him from me. And I hurt every day—every second of the day,” Rowan explained to the convicted murderer. “I want you to suffer just like I’m suffering right now.”
Lucas’ defense attorney allegedly showed a video from a neighbor’s doorbell camera to demonstrate her deteriorating mental state at the time.
“I need positive people around me. I need a family. “I need help,” she reportedly says in video footage taken just one day before the murders.
Burress also spoke briefly before formally delivering the sentence.
“I cannot imagine the sheer horror these children must have experienced seeing their mother with a gun,” he said in WLKY footage. “I cannot imagine the sheer horror the second child must have felt as he heard the weapon discharge for the first child.” And perhaps both of them saw their mother pull the trigger, ending their lives.”
Lucas will be eligible for parole after serving at least 20 years, but prosecutors told Louisville Fox affiliate WDRB that her chances of being released in just two decades are “slim to none.”
Lucas was accused of firing four shots in 30 seconds, claiming it was an accident and that she was “manipulated through Facebook, through the internet, or through Wi-Fi…” (Law & Crime).
According to the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office, a neighboring husband and wife noticed Lucas lying down in their driveway the morning of the slayings and called 911 after discovering the shocking scene inside the suspect’s home. Lucas allegedly told the neighbors that her “kids were dying.”
Following Lucas’ arrest, a detective testified that she said, “I’m in such a bad spot” when questioned about the crimes, “I’m so stupid,” and claimed she “would never do anything like this unless someone manipulated me.”
